Fullmetal Alchemist: The Two Truths
by Kaestal
Summary: When the world was crafted by the Entity behind the Gate it made two beings to govern most things in it, including Alchemy. After the events in Xerxes, one of them decided to take a more "hands-on" approach to the world. This being will bring knowledge, and alter the course of events for the world. Only time will tell if this is a good or bad thing. (OCs, Same pairings as canon)
1. What does the Truth do for you?

**Ethereal Realm, Slightly more than 400 years ago**

In God's Domain two beings of light, Mercy and Judgement, were going about their duties.

When The Creator first made them and everything he had planned alchemy out from the start and tasked the two of them with many things, but two of the more well-known jobs was making sure that alchemy was utilized fairly and properly, and leading the souls of humanity to their final resting place.

The Truth of Judgement and Punishment made sure that those who tried to perform Human Transmutation were brought to the Gate, before judging the human for their sin.

The Truth of Mercy and Forgiveness ensured the punishment was fair, and that Judy didn't take more than was necessary from an alchemist, like a being's entire existence if they do not deserve such a punishment.

Mercer and Judy were had just finished taking the days souls to their resting places when they felt something breach their domain, and more importantly the Gate.

"Did you feel that? Father's Gate.. it just opened." Judy said to her brother, Mercer, who looked at his sibling "I am sure Dad knew this would occur, not much gets by Him." Judy looked at her brother with an unimpressed expression.

"Even so, don't you think we should investigate this occurrence?" Mercer shook his head "Maybe, but let's just keep an eye out and see what happens, no need to go demanding answers from humanity just yet."

Judy nodded at her brother, Mercer was the more level-headed of the two, he had to be if she goes a little overboard when punishing an alchemist.

"Still, I have to wonder what was taken from behind the Gate." Mercer moved to the massive doorway into the true Domain of God and put his hand to it, attempting to feel beyond it.

"Hopefully nothing too important, I don't think Dad would be so calm if he did lose something necessary to existence." Judy walked up to the Gate and stood next to her brother, they both sat down once the were together.

"Guess all we can do is wait, I think it was Xerxes that made this transmutation correct?" Judy nodded at Mercer's question and moved some of the _white_ that made up the realm, creating a "viewing port" for them to keep an eye on the country of a little over 1 million.

* * *

 **A Few Years Later**

The split portion of their Creator, which was called the Dwarf in the Flask by those who knew of it in Xerxes, seemed to be benevolent for the most part.

It was rather snarky and a bit of an ass, but other than that is was quite helpful. Mercer and Judy had their suspicious, when its caretaker asked it what it wanted the shard proclaimed it wanted a body.

"It has to know of the manner it could gain a physical form. I very much doubt that its comment was random, and their King is attempting to gain Immortality." Judy said as she looked at her brother, who was frowning as he looked at Xerxes. Mercer let out a hum of acknowledgment while he looked at the world his Father had created, "Indeed... what is this thing planning? Immortality does not require this much life force, and it must know that."

The siblings were quite frankly frustrated with the enigma that was the Dwarf in the Flask, its words were seemingly helpful but it had this air of superiority around itself. While the two Truths are exceptionally knowledgeable about the creation they're not all knowing nor are they everywhere, and the things plan eluded their understanding for now.

Mercer looked at the country of Xerxes from the view of the clouds, making a mental map of the massacres. Judy heard her brother gasp, "What is it?" Mercer turned to his sister, "It... it's making a nationwide transmutation circle."

Judy looked at Xerxes and sure enough, she found the points, all ten had been made already. Mercer saw a massive alchemic reaction occur, and felt a man appearing before them.

"What the... where am I?" Mercer looked at the man, _"Hohenheim if I remember correctly. Judy... do not take anything from him, this man is not responsible for the transmutation... he is already punished anyways."_ Judy had taken on a pure white form that vaguely resembled Hohenheim, and nodded to her brother before opening the Gate of Truth.

Mercer looked at the world his Creator had made for a moment before disappearing, Judy looked at the world as well and found that her brother had taken the form of a Jade Dragon, _"Huh... I guess he wants a better look."_

Van was pulled through the Gate and saw a vast expanse of darkness, but for a brief moment, he saw a mass of light just before unfathomable amounts of knowledge were imparted unto him, concepts he had never heard of, questions and answers that wouldn't be thought for hundreds of years.

These things were seared into his very being as he passed through the Gate and was returned to the Earth.

 _ **"Impressive... to be able to perceive me even for a moment is beyond most mortals."**_ The entity thought to itself as Hohenheim passed back to the living world. **_"Grand thing are going to happen."_**


	2. Revelations and Advice

**Xing, 398 years ago**

Mercer took the form of a giant jade dragon when he appeared in the physical world, which in retrospective might not have been his best decision, as the Emperor of Xing took one look at his form when Mercer was sleeping and thought he was their Dragon God of Mercy.

Mercer quickly abandoned that form once he discovered this and instead took on the form of a blond male with sky blue eyes, _"Only slightly less suspicious... way to go Mercer!"_

"We found this man in the desert, he looked like one of the people from out west." Mercer looked as Van Hohenheim slowly got off of a camel.

Mercer grimaced at the vast amount of suffering he felt from the souls within him but raised an eyebrow when he felt some of them... healing in a manner, their suffering being soothed.

One of the Xingese looked at Hohenheim before looking to Mercer, seeing a slight resemblance. "Are you two related?" Mercer shook his head, "My family is elsewhere."

Hohenheim looked at Mercer in confusion, "He asked if we were related, I said no." Hohenheim nodded at that before he moved to sit down and started meditating.

Mercer felt the human Philosopher's Stone reaching out to the souls within himself and let out a small smile. "Maybe I'll show him around? He might feel more comfortable with someone who looks similar to him, he looks kinda.. traumatized."

The Xingese around them nodded before moving on, and Mercer went to sit with the man. "Deep breaths, look inside and feel their suffering, know it, be calm as you speak to them. Your attempts will take time, but eventually, their pain will cease." Hohenheim took the advice given to him.

The two sat for a few hours in silence, the day going by as Hohenheim tried to separate the voices and people inside him from the torment they were suffering.

Mercer eventually nudged Hohenheim out of his meditation when it was nearing night time as he kinda needed to show the man around. Hohenheim looked at Mercer with a raised eyebrow before following him, asking how he knew to assist him could come later, _"After all... I have plenty of time."_

Hohenheim was shown around the city by Mercer for about an hour before finally asking the question he wanted to ask since meeting him, "How did you know the manner to soothe those within me, and more to the point how did you know I have souls trapped in my body?"

Mercer stopped moving at that question before turning to Hohenheim, "You met my sister on the way through that Gate, she is judgment whilst I am forgiveness. I chose the name Mercer because it sounds kinda similar to mercy... right?"

Hohenheim stood for a brief moment before he continued walking, "I see." Mercer raised an eyebrow at the nonchalant response, "Not surprised at all?" Hohenheim shook his head, "No... I felt something from you as well."

Mercer hummed at that, "Interesting."

As they walked around Hohenheim saw the "alchemy" these people practiced and was visibly appalled at their consumption of Mercury in an attempt to gain immortality, it was killing them.

Mercer looked at Hohenheim when he felt the man's thoughts, "Why not help them learn then?" Hohenheim thought on that for a moment, "Perhaps I will." Mercer then continued with the tour of the city once he saw Hohenheim considering the advice.

* * *

 **Year 1914, Reole's Temple, immediately after Father Cornello's defeat**

Rose sat on the cold stone as the Elric Brothers left Reole, her spirit shattered by the harsh truth of the world Edward had told her.

"Sheesh, that kid has no tact at all, he should at least be a bit gentler." Rose looked up at the man who was next to her. The man had unruly blond hair, blue eyes with a pair of glasses and wore a black suit and tie getup, but as Rose looked up at him she saw two clouds in the sky made the perfect illusion of wings on his back.

"Who are you?" The man offered a hand to her, pulling Rose to her feet when she accepted.

"I'm Mercer, my sister is an old acquaintance, I guess, of the Elric brothers. I just wanted to check in on them and see how they were doing, looks like the need a lesson in manners." Mercer offered the woman a cloth to wipe her eyes with.

Mercer sat down next to Rose, and after a moment he spoke up again. "Y'know, Ed said that he lost his arm and leg while Al lost his body right? I have a feeling it could've been much worse. With what they tried, much more could've been taken. Someone must've been looking out for them, eh?" Rose looked at Mercer for a moment, "I guess."

Mercer bid the woman goodbye before following the Elrics, time to reveal himself to the two.

He sprinted around the entirety of Reole in one second, finding the two in an alleyway.

"Man.. what a waste of our time, that guy was nothing but a fraud." Ed said as they walked back to the train station, _"We go all the way out here and he just had a fake stone, what a disappointment."_

Al looked at his brother, "Well, we did expose that Cornello was just using them for his own goals, so that is something. We might have prevented a civil war too." Al preferred to see the bright side of things, at least they helped other people.

"You also managed to make a hurting girl cry even more short stack, nice job." Ed froze at the word "short", turning his head slowly to the source before taking in a deep breath.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORTER THAN A POT PLANT YOU JACKASS!" Al moved in an attempt to restrain his brother, but Ed managed to get away and launched himself at the man.

Mercer grinned at the explosive reaction and extended his arm out, placing his palm on Ed's head and halting the alchemist's attempt to maim the one who dared call him short.

Mercer wasn't all too surprised when Ed managed to overcome his "tactic" quickly, Mercer saw the young alchemist's attacks like they were in slow motion, dodging them for a time before grabbing the auto-mail arm and fusing it's components together before slamming the furious Elric into the ground, restraining his remaining arm behind his back casually. "Well hey, it's not entirely your fault you are so short, nutrients are being sent to Al's body to maintain it as well as your own."

Ed almost blew a gasket until Alphonse quietly asked a question that stopped his rage, "How do you know about that?" Mercer gazed at the suit of armor with pity and... guilt? for a moment.

"Because I was there when you two tried the only taboo my Creator gave alchemy." Ed had stopped struggling and Mercer restored his arm to its normal state.

"And let me assure you, it could've been much, much worse than it was." Mercer let the state alchemist up before jumping from the teen.

Ed tested his arm for a bit before looking a Mercer, "Why should we trust anything you say?" Mercer had a contemplative look on his face, what would prove his words true?

Mercer held his right arm out with his palm facing upwards, Ed's eyes widened and Al gasped when what looked like an orb of fire appeared in his hand, and a few waist high tornadoes suddenly appeared behind Mercer.

Ed and Al started to back up before Mercer spoke to them, "Splitting and Fusing atoms, the things making up solid, liquid, and gaseous entities results in a large amount of energy, and if I wasn't containing this flame it would destroy Reole almost instantly." The Elrics stopped moving at that, there was no point to attempt fleeing if he stopped containing that energy. Ed only had once thought while looking at that ball, _"This guy is gonna kill us, isn't he?"_

Thankfully Mercer restored the split and fused atoms back to the air they originally were. "Killing isn't really my thing, forgiveness and mercy is Ed, no need to worry about that."

Ed took in a deep breath while Al's arms sagged in relief "So... Al's body is still at the Gate?" Ed managed to recover from that shock, and quite frankly this being in front of him had demonstrated something that Alchemy couldn't achieve. Even a Philosopher's Stone couldn't suddenly call up weather and make the sun appear in your hand.

"Yep, and it is the reason for you-" Ed's eyebrow twitched, "-r stunted growth, you kinda need to eat for two people at every meal, and the weight of your auto-mail might be doing something as well."

Ed nodded at that, "So... is it possible for us to get our bodies back? Do you know how we coul-" Mercer just put a hand on the state alchemists head, "Yes to both questions, but I won't tell you how. I may have made your judgment fair, but don't think I will give you the answers you seek. They are yours to discover."

Mercer could see Ed grit his teeth and decided to throw him a bone, "Ah why not, I'll give you a hint. The way to restore your bodies will come at a great cost, and there are a few you can choose from which require you to sacrifice something different each, but they might not be physical costs."

Al and Ed watched as the man walked away, "What the hell does that mean?! What cost?" Ed shouted at the man, who simply turned to shrug at the two, "Figure it out! You're both geniuses aren't ya?" Mercer disappeared into a crowd, leaving the two to think on his little hint.


	3. Memories and Accusations

**Train**

Ed and Al were quiet on the train back to central while just thinking back on their encounter with Mercer, he had given them a hint about getting their bodies back, but basically all he said was "Yes you can, but at a few different prices." Al was also silent, clearly thinking on it as well.

 _"What prices?"_ Ed thought as the train was moving, a Philosopher's Stone would just remove such a thing entirely.

 **"Now entering Eastern Station."** The Elrics got up and prepared to disembark, apparently the Colonel had a new lead on a way to restore their bodies. When the brothers got into the street two kids accidentally bumped into Alphonse, knocking some groceries they had out of their hands and onto the ground.

"Oh! I'm sorry, here, let me help you." Ed watched his younger brother help the two pick everything up and with wide eyes he was suddenly reminded of something from just before that day, an encounter that was seemingly random, but he now knows was a _warning._ "That... _that Bastard._ " Edward said aloud.

* * *

 **Year 1910, Day the Taboo is committed.**

"C'mon Al! We need to get this stuff back home!" Ed was racing home with half the ingredients needed for their transmutation, an entire human body broken down into its base components. Al was slightly behind his older sibling and was holding the other half. Ed had turned to face his brother while talking to him and couldn't see if anyone was in front of him, but Al could.

"Brother watch out!" Ed crashed into something and was knocked over, letting out a groan as he got back up. "Watch where you are going jerk!" Al face palmed, his brother was blaming the other person?

Ed looked at the meat in despair, it was dirty now! "Sorry.. sorry... here, let me help ya." The stranger helped to pick the future alchemic materials and looked at the variety with interest.

"Y'know... a lot of this stuff is in the human body." Ed and Al paled slightly, _"Is he a state alchemist?"_ The brothers weren't stupid if anything, they knew that human transmutation was illegal, but they were _sure_ it would work.

"Really? We didn't know that..." Mercer looked at the brothers for a moment, staring at both of them before shrugging, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Yeah.. but of course there is one part of a human that can't be bought in stores... it is priceless in fact." Mercer and Ed finished re-bagging all the ingredients after Mercer had cleaned them off of course.

"I would say that the human body is just cheap, crude matter. I believe it is what is inside everyone that makes a human just that, human, and it is the most valuable thing in the world. Way more than the pocket change needed to get all the components." Mercer said before he got up before walking away.

"Thanks mister!" Alphonse yelled to him, and the man waved back in acknowledgment.

Sadly, the brothers didn't heed this message and found out the hard way that nothing is able to match the value of a human soul.

They were Judged for their sin of attempting to play God.

* * *

 **Eastern HQ**

"Brother?" Ed was pulled out of his flashback by Al's light shaking of his shoulders. "What Al?" Alphonse stared at his older sibling, "What were you thinking about? I've been trying to get your attention for almost a minute, we are already at HQ."

Ed was surprised to hear that, _"just how out of it was I?"_ Ed shook his head before looking at Al, "Do you remember the day we tried to... y'know?" Al pointed to his body, "How could I forget?"

Ed grimaced, "No.. I mean when we were racing home, do you remember running into Mercer?" Alphonse just cocked his head slightly, "Brother, we went straight from the store to our house-" Al stopped himself short, "Wait...how did I forget that?"

"Cuz the memory was suppressed when the two of you did it anyways." The brothers startled as Mercer appeared next to them. "You bastard! Why didn't you just warn us!" Ed looked at the man with fire in his eyes, because of this guy he didn't have his arm or leg, and Alphonse was stuck in that damn armor.

To Ed's surprise, Mercer disappeared form his sight, almost like a blur, "If I had said to you 'don't try and bring back your mother' would you have stopped your attempt? Would you of trusted a random stranger who suddenly knew of your motives and goal?" Mercer frowned at Ed, why blame the guy who warned you about stuff?

"You chose to do so Edward, I didn't force your hand or the alchemic process to occur without your consent, both you and Alphonse both chose your goal and suffered the consequences for your actions, you two are quite lucky, even beyond my own mercy, it could have been worse." Ed looked at the being before him in bewilderment, _"That event was lucky? What about that could've been worse!"_

"That thing at the gate was just toying with us! _IT_ seemed all too happy when I returned for Al." Mercer nodded in confirmation.

"Of course she was you moron, Judy loves her job. My job is to make sure she doesn't go overboard."

"You call _this_ not going overboard." Ed pointed out their metallic bodies. "No, I call that a soul possessing armor and a short person."

Ed, like clockwork, exploded at the S word and threw himself at Mercer, this time Al managed to restrain his brother.

"Fullmetal, I see you are busy making friends the locals." Roy and Riza came across an interesting scene, Ed was trying to escape the hold that Al had on him while another man barely held back a laugh.

"I'LL JUST KILL HIM A LITTLE AL! LET ME GO!" Ed barely even registered the Flame Alchemist's appearance, more important things needed to be dealt with.

"You pushed the button I suppose?" Roy asked the stranger, "Yeah... it is such an amazing thing, he _always_ explodes at cha when ya push that button, doesn't he." Mercer looked at the Colonel, "Got any stories about it?" Roy just grinned. Riza shook her head as the two men started talking about Ed's "height button" as they called it, _"Immature."_ She thought.

"Well... I best be off, I got some stuff that needs doin, y'know how it is." Mustang nodded to the man before turning to the slightly cooled down Elric brother.

"I have some information that you might find personally interesting Fullmetal, have you heard of Shau Tucker?" Ed looked at the Colonel, the "personally interesting" thing was a sort of code phrase when in public for "I might have a way to restore your body."

Ed and Al were told about the man when back in Mustang's office, apparently Tucker was known as the sowing life alchemist... he could be just what they were looking for.

* * *

 **A/N So I keep making slightly helpful but more trolling characters, first Oberon and now Mercer? Anyways, if you have read the manga or the brotherhood anime we all know how the Shau Tucker thing turns out. Also... Mercer might have slightly altered their memories after his encounter, they weren't removed, just... put in the background.**


	4. Damnation, Tragedy

**Ethereal Ream, 1914**

"Sooo.. any reason you have taken a sudden interest in the Elrics? Interacting with random alchemists isn't really your thing, you haven't been down on Earth this much since that whole 'Jade Dragon" fiasco." Judy had started interrogating her brother the moment he stepped into their creator's realm, and even though Mercer had fled upon the first question Judy was relentless in her pursuit of the Truth.

Mercer had finally been pinned down by his sister who refused to budge an inch until he admitted defeat, and he was on the verge of spilling the beans.

"You'll never make me say anything you fiend!" Mercer proclaimed, and Judy just narrowed her eyes, _"It has come to this huh?"_ Mercer saw the look in her eye and was afraid, what is her plan?

"If you don't tell me... I'll make a repeat of The Incident." Mercer paled "You wouldn't dare." Judy just smirked.

"I see... yes they interest me." Judy waited for the rest but it seemed that Mercer thought that was enough of an explanation.

Judy let out a sigh "I already know that silly, I want to know _why_ they interest you so much." Mercer mumbled an answer.

"Speak up brother, I couldn't hear you." Judy moved a bit until her ear was closer to his mouth, "I said... they could help us in dealing with him."

Judy moved back before raising an eyebrow and pouting, "Seriously? I thought it was something way more secretive than that, oh well." Judy moved off her brother before offering a hand and helping him up.

Mercer got up and fixed his suit before feeling something... awful happen. Judy gazed solemnly at the Tucker household before looking at her brother, "I know." Mercer said as he too looked at the house, but instead with disgust at the man who would _dare_ do that to his own daughter."Some things are beyond Mercy."

Judy knew that her brother had some hard limits on what he would and would not forgive, and this is without a doubt one of them.

"Send him _straight_ to Hell when he dies. After performing such a sickening act out of their own will just to get their damn job back? He gets _nothing_ from me." Mercer snarled before he teleported to Amestris.

* * *

 **Fountain**

"Shau Tucker was a disgusting excuse of a human." Ed barely reacted to Mercer's sudden appearance as the Elric brothers had just been informed that Nina and the Sowing Life Alchemist had been reported killed by a Scarred Man.

Al moved his armor to the new arrival, "Could you have done anything?" Mercer closed his eyes before taking a breath, neither he nor Judy actually knew what was going on until it was too late.

The weren't all knowing.

"I did do something, Nina was granted mercy." Mercer said simply.

Ed finally reacted to Mercer when he said that and got up, "Did you kill them?" Ed asked in a small voice before Mercer shook his head, "No.. not me, but the 'Scarred Man' did the right thing."

Mercer saw the State Alchemist tremble, "What was right about that whole situation?!" Mercer raised an eyebrow at Ed, "Nothing."

"Why didn't you do anything?! You had to have known that bastard was going to use his own _family_ to keep his damn job!" Ed said before grabbing the Truth's tie and pulling him into an Auto-Mail fist. Mercer was surprised by the force behind it and to Al's shock he went down from the sucker punch.

Ed was amazed that he managed to get a clean hit in but it fractured his arm slightly, _"Winry is gonna kill me."_ Was his thought at the state of the arm, she got fanatical about her precious creation's condition.

Mercer sighed as he got back up, neither clapping his hands nor using an alchemic circle before golden lighting traveled from his body to Ed's arm, repairing the Auto-Mail.

"The only thing that any of you can do is learn from this tragedy. And the only thing I can do is make Nina and Alexander comfortable." The taller man looked behind himself and frowned.

The taller man looked behind himself and frowned, "Like I told you before, there are many paths to restoring your bodies. The Sowing-Life Alchemist's is but one way." Ed or Al didn't have a chance to reply as Mercer disappeared in front of them, simply vanishing before their very eyes.

Ed slumped back onto the fountain, staring at his clasped hands. The two were quiet for several minutes.

"Are you the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric?" A man asked, "Yeah... that's me." Ed looked up at a darker-skinned man with sunglasses on.

* * *

 **Sewers**

Scar had been running from the Military for a short time before he felt a hand on his shoulder, the world seemed to blur as he came to a halt somewhere in the city, a good distance away from those pursuing him.

"Hello." Scar knocked the arm off of him before turning around and seeing a blond haired man before him. Mercer made no movements while Scar looked around at his new surroundings.

"How did I get here?" Scar hadn't been anywhere near this area the instant before he was suddenly on the rooftop of some building. "I ran us here," Mercer responded simply.

"No one can move that fast." Mercer raised an eyebrow before looking around, "The evidence is right in front of you, we were in a sewer and now we are here. Unless you hold a better explanation for what occurred."

Scar looked at the man for a moment before he started walking to the stairs, but was stopped by Mercer alchemically blocking it off.

"I see that you don't, but that is a good thing, no one has all the answers but one." Scar turned to face Mercer. "Are you a State Alchemist?" Scar asked, flexing his right arm. "No, but I guess you could say I am a.. friendly acquaintance.. kinda, of Edward Elric's." Mercer watched as Scar made his decision, and let the Ishvalan's arm grasp his face.

Mercer stood as blue alchemic energy was released before casually placing his hand on Scar's wrist and forcing his arm away.

"No need for that Scar, I do not intend to get in the way of your goal, if I may say so you have the wrong target for the Ishvalan Civil War. I would look a bit higher than you currently are, and dig a bit deeper into who the guy that shot first was." Mercer stopped speaking as he looked towards Central.

Scar clenched his fist, _"Does he think words will stop me?"_ Mercer looked back at Scar. "I think that is a huge question, who called for your people to be killed, and why. I mean, it's gotta be someone higher than a grunt, right?"

Scar saw the transmuted wall return back to its proper place before feeling a slight wind as Mercer disappeared. Scar looked towards Central and heard Mercer's words, _"Higher than a grunt."_


	5. Rest, Repair, and Dream

**Train, En Route to Resembool**

Ed looked at the note Dr. Marco had given him when they left, _"A library.. maybe he hid something there?"_ Ed thought to himself as he sat on the train to Resombel. Finding out that the Philosopher's Stone was real, and that creating one was a very real possibility had been some of the best information they've received since they joined the military, Marco hadn't told them _how_ to make one, but had given them the library of where to find his notes.

When they got back to Central, that building was their first stop, no question about it.

 _"Scar really did a number on us."_ Ed thought to himself in frustration, his auto-mail arm had been badly damaged while Al's body had started falling apart. That wasn't what bothered him the most, the fact that Scar had so easily beaten the two of them into submission took that trophy, it was _infuriating_. The fact that _Colonel Mustang_ hadn't allowed them to go to Resembool without a bodyguard said it all, Roy didn't think they were able to stand a chance against him.

Speaking of their bodyguard, Major Alex Louis Armstrong had been assigned to protect Ed and Al from anyone that would cause harm to the brothers. Ed would never say it out loud but he had to admit he felt a lot safer with the man around, he was a skilled fighter and talented alchemist even if he was a bit... odd.

Ripping your shirt off at random isn't exactly what most people would consider normal behavior.

"So Edward, how do you feel about returning after all this time?" Armstrong asked the younger alchemist. Ed put on a nervous grin in response "Uhm, fine... It has been awhile since we left and... it would be good to see everyone again." Armstrong let out a hum before looking out at the countryside.

Ed was thankful that the rest of the trip was quiet as he gazed out his window. A short time later the two State Alchemists saw the train pulling up to Resembool station, and upon looking at his arm the Fullmetal Alchemist had only one thought.

 _"Winry's going to be_ really _angry..."_ Ed's auto-mail arm was badly damaged and he had no doubt a wrench would be thrown in his future.

Upon arriving at the station and disembarking Armstrong got Al from one of the cargo containers. "You alright?" Ed asked his younger brother, "Yeah." He assured Ed.

Ed looked in the direction of the Rockbell household, "Time to go home..."

* * *

It wasn't too long before the three found themselves in front of their destination, _"Hasn't changed a bit."_ Ed thought to himself with a smile. The door opened and the three saw a blond haired girl a little under 5'7 in a white dress shirt and black school skirt walk out, blinking in surprise at the people on the property.

Ed furrowed his brow, that... wasn't Winry. " _Did they move?"_ Armstrong set Alphonse on the ground "Is this the Rockbell residence?" He asked the girl.

"Yes..." She trailed off, "May I ask who you are?" The girl asked while looking between them, Armstrong was about to reply when another person exited the house, "Why're you holding the door ope... Ed? Al?" A shorter, older woman walked out from the house.

Ed grinned upon seeing her, "Hey granny... we're back." Pinako smiled, but soon started to chuckle, "You haven't grown a bit." Ed _barely_ held himself back from flying into a rage at her insult, but from the clenching of his fist and grinding of his teeth, the effect was obvious.

The Fullmetal Alchemist's teeth were almost grinding together as he spoke, "You're _supposed_ to say 'How you've grown since I last saw you' Granny.."

"If I said that I'd be lying."

As Ed and Pinako... caught up with each other, the blond girl got acquainted with the others. "Hello, I'm Judy." She said, extending her hand to shake Armstrong's, "Salutations! I am Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist." The man's massive hand grasped Judy's, outright encompassing it, but she didn't seem to mind all that much.

"Nice ta meetcha Al!" Judy said to the Major.

When she looked at the suit of armor Judy tilted her head, "So I guess that makes you the Fullmetal Alchemist? What happened to you?" Al shook his head, "Ummm the Fullmetal Alchemist is Ed, my brother." Judy looked back at Edward, he seems to have been introduced to Winry's wrench of fury and was bleeding on the ground... or overreacting.

Placing a finger on her chin Judy seemed to be in deep thought, "Nope... he's too short." Ed moved so fast he basically teleported, one second he was on the ground in pain and the next a very angry golden haired State Alchemist was in Judy's personal space.

"What did you say?" Ed asked, once again grinding his teeth together.

Judy raised a brow in amusement as she looked at him "I said-" She leaned in to whisper in the angry boy's ear, "-you're too short." She finished with a smirk, pulling back just before the explosion that was restrained by Armstrong, who thankfully appeared behind and grabbed the young alchemist.

"LET GO! I PROMISE I WON'T KILL HER!" Edward yelled while being held back by the Strong Arm Alchemist's grip.

"Now now Edward, we are here to fix you, not harm others." Armstrong said in a chiding voice, Judy had stars in her eyes when she saw the larger Alchemist carrying the crate with one arm and restraining Edward with the other, "Wow... you're so strong!"

"Thank you, Ma'am! THIS BODY-" Ed's trashing stopped as he rolled his eyes at what was coming, "- is very excellent!" Armstrong tried to flex his muscles before the audience, but in his attempt to impress Judy the crate carrying Alphonse was dropped, knocking the helmet clean off.

There was a brief silence while Armstrong, Ed, Winry, and Pinako just _stared_ , at both Alphonse's exposed blood seal and Judy, who slowly turned her gaze towards Armstrong.

"You're a pretty good ventriloquist too Mr. Armstrong."

"... Thank you, ma'am, it is a skill I have cultivated over the years." He said in a neutral tone without looking at her, he was looking at the sky, eyes wide open in disbelief.

"And you have an excellent range of voices!" Judy said with a beaming smile, Ed's jaw had dropped at what he was hearing and he had no doubt Winry and Pinako were doing something similar.

Alphonse didn't _dare_ make a sound.

"Soooo... when should we get started?" Judy asked the group, closing her eyes and smiling.

Pinako recovered first, "As soon as the giant moves out of the doorway. We'll need to take some measurements of Ed." Everyone snapped back into action, Winry staying behind to put Al's head back on before going inside.

* * *

Ed was sat down in a chair, getting measured by the two automail experts while Judy stood in the room ready to hand them any equipment they needed, he was slightly impressed by the fact that she always handed them whatever tool they needed at the time, without Pinako or Winry having to say anything at all.

"Huh." Pinako spoke up as they measured his body, "Looks like you _have_ grown a little, so we'll have to rebuild these from scratch I'm afraid."

Ed nodded and watched as Pinako, Winry, and Judy started getting everything ready to take his automail off. Judy handed the alchemist a small block of wood.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked after picking it up with his human hand, Judy tilted her head before giving him a vulpine smile.

"Bite down on it while we take you apart." The serene, detached way she explained that was unnerving, to say the least; Ed's face got just that small bit paler.

"Don't scare the poor boy Judy," Pinako said as she and Winry prepared to take off his arm.

"Aww, but it's fun to mess with people." Judy pouted, Pinako shook her head and turned to their patient.

"I'll count down from 3." She said to Edward, not starting until she got a nod from him.

Pinako began counting, "3.."

"Ugh!" Ed's shout was muffled by the wooden block, he nearly jumped from his seat as the badly damaged arm was disconnected.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SAY 2 AND THEN 1!" He nearly spat the thing out as he shouted, Pinako and Winry didn't pay him any mind as they got rid of the automail while Ed sat back down and recovered.

Judy sighed as she saw the block on the ground and looked at the other two, getting a nod from them as they went to Ed's leg. "5..7..2...9..."

"What're you-" Ed didn't get much further into that sentence...

"GAJGH!"

"Okay, we're done." Pinako said as Judy went and got the prosthetic limb "Aaand here ya go!" She said, beaming as began attaching it.

"Hate you all..." Edward whined.

"Okay then, I'll get to work on your replacements," Winry informed him.

"How long will that take?" He asked, Ed, and presumably, Al _really_ wanted to get back to Central as soon as possible.

"Let's see.." Winry started to count off the various parts that would be required, Ed only half paid attention as he noticed Judy sit down, that in itself wasn't too interesting, but they _way_ she sat was... weirdly familiar, he couldn't quite put his finger on it...

"If I pull all nighters I can get it done in 4 days, tops," Winry answered. Ed let out a frustrated groan at her assessment while Judy got a huge grin and stars in her eyes, "So we have guests then? I'll get the rooms ready!"

"Umm... I'll get that Judy, why don't you instead get some scrap metal from the basement, that Armor looks like it'll need to be repaired once Ed's arm is fixed." Pinako interjected rather suddenly. The girl let out a frown before nodding, "Anyways Ed, we'll give you a prosthetic leg to use for now. It won't be connected to your nerves so be sure to walk _carefully_."

Winry went and got to work on Ed's replacement automail while Pinako prepared the rooms, in just a few moments the limb snapped into place, Judy helped Ed get out of the chair.

"You'll need to get used to walking with this old thing, but for a guy like you, it shouldn't be that hard to adjust," Judy assured him with a smile.

"Thanks." Ed said, "No problemo," Judy said, she saw him start to stumble and quickly moved to steady him, "Want some help till you get used to this leg?" Instead of answering Ed tried to walk again, but he started wobbling after the third step, he was about to fall before Judy once again caught him and tilted her head, this time Ed gave a small, barely noticeable nod to her.

* * *

Just like she said, Pinako had prepared the guest rooms for Ed, Al, and Armstrong. Ed had thankfully made it to bed and fallen asleep without too much difficulty. Before he had gone to bed the last thing he did was check in on Winry, who had been too focused on her work to say more than a few words.

The older Elric grimaced as the sun broke through the curtains and assaulted his face, turning around with a mumbling complaint, swearing vengeance on the light underneath his breath before he began to get up. Ed pushed himself to a sitting position and blearily opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Al's armored body in the corner.

A jolt went through his body when he noticed the eye holes, they were _empty_.

Al's eyes _always_ had a light behind them, ever since he first inhabited that body the eye holes had a whiteness in them when his head was attached to his body.

"Al?" Ed asked alarmed, "AL!" The older Elric scrambled to attach the prosthetic and stumbled over to his brother.

"AL ARE YOU OKAY?!"

The whiteness flickered back into existence slowly, "Whatryou shoutinfer.." Al's voice seemed... _sleepy_ , like he had just woken up.

Ed stared at him, eyes wide with confusion, he knew that with Al's... unique existence he couldn't sleep, _ever_ , He was a soul in an armored body, he simply _couldn't_ enjoy something as simple as sleep, so why did he sound tired?

"I had the weirdest dream..." Al said as the whiteness became more permanent, but once it did the younger Elric let out a gasp, "Did I... did I sleep?"

Ed's thoughts were racing as he tried to figure out how that happened, but just as he began to ask questions the door was kicked open.

"BREAKFAST TIME!" Judy barged into their room with a grin, a tray of eggs, bacon, sweet-cakes, and milk on a tray. Honestly, there was at _least_ enough for two people. "Sorry if it's a little much, I just thought since you traveled all this way you'd be a little hungry and decid-" Judy stopped talking and cocked her head at the sight of a half naked Edward crouched in front of the weird armor, "Sooo.. what did I walk in on?"

"Uhh... nothing, just... looking at Major Armstrong's puppet, he asked me to repair it when I can so..." Ed fibbed with only a slight waver in his voice, "Coolio! I can't wait to see how Al does when he can use the full suit, does he wear it into battle or something?" Judy questioned.

Ed just nodded "Yeah, when he _really_ needs to he wears it, but only when there is no other option, it's kind of his last resort."

"I see, well, here's to hoping that he doesn't have to put it on while you're here!" Judy said with a beaming smile as she placed the tray on the desk next to the window. "I'll just leave this here... see ya downstairs!"

While on the way out Judy peaked back in, "Oh, Winry says that she only needs three more days to complete the automail. Later!"

Just as soon as she appeared, Judy was gone.

Ed looked at Alphonse, concern visible on his face, "Are you.. feeling alright?"

Al let out a hum, "Yeah... I'm okay."

With some effort the older Elric got up, only almost falling over in the process, "We'll figure this out later, alright?"

"Alright."

* * *

"Hey Winry, when did you hire Judy?" Ed asked, she was taking a small break from working on his arm, apparently the leg was mostly completed now, she predicted he would be done tomorrow.

The way she looked at everyone, it was like she wasn't seeing what everyone else did. Winry even said that she rarely had to ask for parts, Judy just set the most of what was needed on her table beforehand, sometimes getting replacement parts when the ones she was working one were inadequate without Winry even _saying_ anything.

Where she got them from was another story, but Ed did sometimes hear Alchemy going on from her room at times, so there's that.

"Hmmm, about two months ago." She said, getting a snack from the cabinets as she walked into the kitchen. "Know much about her?" He probed further, "Not much, she's kinda shy despite what you saw earlier. Granny would know more, she's the one that went over the application."

Winry filled a glass with water before asking Ed if he wanted one, passing him a second when at his request.

"Soo.. you don't know _anything_ about her?" He asked again.

"Why're you so interested in Ju..." Winry narrowed her eyes as she connected some dots, "Do you have a crush on her Ed?" She asked.

"What? No! She just... haven't you seen how she looks at people? It's like she _knows_ something and that whole ventriloquist thing doesn't make much sense, I mean, I don't know if she actually thought that, she paused for a long time before saying anything." Ed laid down his observations.

"Maybe she just didn't want to pry?" Winry offered, seeing everyone freeze might've clued her in to not ask questions about it and just pretend nothing was out of place.

"I guess..." If that was the reason then Ed was somewhat glad she didn't ask any questions, having to explain Al's condition in any way to someone they didn't know wasn't something the brothers wanted to ever do. Ed just hoped that she would stay ignorant to the truth.

Ed stared into his glass for a moment.

"Al dreamed last night." Ed just laid it out.

Winry froze before turning to him, "What? I thought he couldn't do that?

"Neither did I... but.. he did it, I don't know how."

"Is he okay?"

Ed _couldn't_ answer that...

* * *

Winry bit her lip as she looked over her current items, she had completed Edward's leg two days ago and was currently almost done with his arm but from the looks of it, she had somehow misplaced a few small, key parts to it. _"Great.. just great. I can't finish the darn thing without five more plates and... ahhrrhhgg"_ She leaned back in her chair, letting out a frustrated groan before covering her eyes with her arm.

Hearing about Al's dream had been both amazing and terrifying, from what she knew he had such an unstable existence, at any moment he could just _die_ if that seal was damaged. Any change was worrying, even something like a dream.

She didn't even want to think about how he's feeling about it, personally, if Winry had gone years without sleeping or dreaming, and then suddenly did it, she would probably _freak_ out.

"Heya Winry!" Judy popped in, cheerful as ever. "Hi Judy," Winry's replied dejectedly, Judy's near constant smile and upbeat attitude was great most of the time, but she _really_ didn't want to deal with it right now, making such a simple mistake after all this time sucked the positivity right out of Winry.

"So I made some plates for you and thought to bring em right up," Winry heard her place what sounded like metallic objects on the table before leaving.

Uncovering her eyes, Winry's sight landed on _exactly_ what she needed to continue working, with a grin the mechanic shouted, "Thanks Judy!"

"No problem!" She yelled from down the hallway.

* * *

All the way across the country there was a man sneaking around in the sewers, he knew of some strange stuff going down in this part of Amestris, potentially related to _him_.

Their teacher was nearby, the one who had something taken from her, hopefully, if they find out about this part of the country, she'd help out if things went south with _him_.

Well.. as long as she doesn't _kill_ the two for performing the taboo first, that would be bad.

As he saw some light emanating from a room down the corridor the man sneezed, "AAHH CHU!" The sneeze was _extremely_ loud and as the sound echoed throughout the sewers Mercer put his head in his palms, "Freaking Elrics... Why did Dad make us sneeze when people say our names?" Mercer mumbled to himself.

"Hey, did anyone else hear that?"

"Sounded like someone sneezed."

"Oh really? I thought it was a cat hissing, go find whoever's out there!"

Mercer just sighed, so much for stealth.

As he prepared to meet Greed's pack of Chimeras there was only one thing going through the entities' mind.

 ** _"Freaking Elrics!"_**


	6. Back In Action

_This chapter comes with some reworkings of the previous ones O.o'_

* * *

"Well looky what we've got here, an intruder on our turf." Mercer took in the group before him, there were four human-chimeras out in the sewers with him.

 _"Guess I'm in the right place."_ The embodiment thought to himself, no normal alchemist could merge humans and animals together with zero obvious traits from the animal part remaining. The one threatening him with a sword was fused with a dog, barely noticeable, but for a guy like him, it was as clear as day.

The biggest member was fused with an ox of some sort; when needed the Chimera would put that strength to good use he had no doubt.

A lone girl was among them, she seemed to be mixed with a snake of some sort, and the last was more obviously fused with a lizard.

"Heya," Mercer greeted, "I'm not looking to cause any trouble, just wanted to meet with your boss. No need for this to get ugly." The dog-hybrid scoffed, "Shouldn't a come down here then pretty-boy."

 _"Pretty-boy?!"_

"Get him!" Mercer let out a disappointed noise, the dog-man slashed his sword in an attempt to cut him from the stomach up, but the attack never landed.

Instead, the Dog-Man fell unconscious from a light blow to the back of the head. Next up was the Ox-Man, summoning up his chimera-augmented strength and rushing full speed at Mercer.

He too was dealt with in an instant, a, for Mercer, light tap to the chest knocked all the air out of the giant.

The Ox-Man joined the Dog-Man in the sewage.

Mercer looked at the remaining two Chimeras, "Would you like to join them?" He asked, retrieving the unconscious combatants from the water before they drowned.

He quickly discovered another Chimera as it burst from the sewer water, whoever it was had been fused with a crocodile from the looks of it. Mercer's newest foe swiped at him savagely, claws striking his skin, and breaking off.

Ulchi let out a pained yelp, but he was quickly silenced by Mercer who grabbed his uninjured hand and body slammed him into the concrete, cracking the pavement and sending Ulchi to ni-night land.

No-one else could see it, but he healed the man's claws. "Anyone still in the mood to try?" Before the gecko man or snake lady could move another person walked out of the room.

"Alright, that's enough racket, who the hell are you?" A man with short, spiked black hair, shades, and black leather clothing asked as he arrived.

"Greed, I presume?" Mercer set the two gently on the ground.

"Ya got that right, and that's my stuff your touchin there." Mercer just raised a brow, "You're things? Humans don't tend to refer to others as property."

"Got that right." Greed smirked, "Boss, this dude just took out Dolcetta, Ulrich, and Roa!" The gecko-fused Chimera exclaimed worriedly.

"I can see that." Greed sneered, "This guy must think he's a tough customer. But don't worry Bido, no one hurts my stuff and gets away with it." The gecko-man looked relieved to hear that, Mercer noted.

 _"Seems less like ownership and more like loyalty to me."_ Mercer got up and turned to face Greed. "It's times like these that make me wish for a simpler life." Mercer chatted.

"I bet, especially considering you're about to get your ass kicked." Greed punctuated his words by changing his body, instead of a pale skinned, spiky black haired human, there was a grey-skinned bald, demon looking thing in front of him.

"Ughh... of course." Greed's demonic smile seemed to crack further along his head, there was a pause before he rushed forwards, Mercer braced himself.

 _ **=================================|EKM|====================================**_

"Okay, read Ed?" Winry and Pinako were situated to his sides, two newly finished automail limbs ready to attach. The elder Elrich shakily nodded, tensing the moment Winry moved her hands further up the leg.

"3." Winry droned out, snapping it on without any warning. Ed opened his mouth but nothing came out.

In the other room, Den jumped to his feet with a startled expression on his adorable doggy face.

"Oh don't be such a baby," Pinako chided, snapping his arm on immediately afterward. Ed hung his head, hair covering his eyes as he recovered from the ordeal.

"Aren't you supposed to be a tough State Alchemist?" Ed raised his head with a murderous expression sent Judy's way. She was sitting in the corner, left leg flat on the ground, hand touching her ankle. Her right leg was braced, with the corresponding arm on top of it.

It looked a bit too similar to something else's way of resting to him.

He must've made face because she smirked. No, the appropriate term would be a smile. A large, toothy smile.

Ed felt his blood go cold and his body still, "Hey, can I borrow Ed for a moment?" Judy's smile reverted to normal as she beamed happily at Pinako and Winry, she didn't get a response before getting him on his feet and leaving the room with haste.

She dragged Ed to his room, where Alphonse was still situated. "Now then, you should really get to work fixing your little bro's body." She said without ceremony or even the hint of subtlety, Al let out an audible gasp.

"Who the hell are you?" Ed glared menacingly at her, she just brushed it off, "Oh, I thought you would've figured it out by now. But if I must spell it out, my name is Judy."

The room felt like it got just a noticeable degree colder as she smiled just like that prick in front of the Gate.

"And I am the Truth of Judgement and Punishment. And the one that took your arm and leg and Alphonse's body." Ed felt like someone had punched him in the gut...

 _ **=================================|EKM|====================================**_

"How're you holdin up man?" Mercer was casually leaning against the wall as Greed's still carboned head sprouted a neck, bolts of red alchemic energy illuminating their somewhat dark surroundings. His arms were folded with a frown as his eyes observed the effects of the light.

It somehow made the sewer even more gloomy...

"Funny," Greed's torso started forming from the nerves up. Whoever this guy was, he couldn't be human. Greed had been given the Absolute Shield and yet one single punch from this guy held enough force to crack it, he didn't even seem to put any effort into it.

Tha theory of his was proven when Mercer punched him a second time after he healed, absolutely destroying his body and reducing Greed the Avaricious to a head.

Mercer waited as Greed's body reformed, staring down the corridor with a pensive look. "Something the matter?" Greed was mostly back together now, his lower legs were the only things missing now.

"Not yet, but it could go wrong soon." He looked at Greed with a bored expression, "Want to go again?"

"No," Greed submitted. He knew when to throw in the towel. If he was reduced to mulch in two punches further attempts to fight would end with the same result.

"Good, cuz like I said earlier, I didn't come here to fight." Mercer helped Greed off the floor. The Homonculus looked at the strange being with confusion, "What do you want then?"

"Information that only a Homonculus holds."

 _ **=================================|EKM|====================================**_

"Prove it then!" Ed smirked as he challenged Judy's claim. The woman arched a brow and raised her right hand, palm facing the younger Elric.

Ed took a cautious step back as gold alchemic energy, the same type that Mercer guy displayed, but nothing happened. Looking around, the Fullmetal Alchemist saw nothing had changed. But as he took a step forward, it felt as if his torso was a bit heavier than before...

"Umm... brother?" Alphonse's voice seemed both confused and worried. Sadly, he couldn't do much from the crate, what with his body still being badly damaged.

Alphonse saw that it was definitely still Edward Elric in the room with him, but the form had been... how could he put it.

Altered.

That was his diplomatic way of putting it.

Meanwhile, Edward had a far less calm reaction, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" _She_ shouted after looking down, voice higher than it was a few moments ago.

"I... hahaha... I made you a _girl_ ," Judy was giggling like a madwoman, Ed's new form was far more feminine, what had to be C-cups were now putting pressure on the former boy's back. A quick, embarrassing check revealed new plumbing was now equipped too.

"PUT ME BACK TO NORMAL!" Ed demanded, grabbing the Truth by the collar, bringing the upset girl's furious face way too into focus.

"But it's _funny_ ," Judy had mostly recovered from her laughing fit and just seemed amused at Ed's reaction.

"NOT TO ME!"

"Fine..." Judy sounded truly bothered as she relented, Ed's face turned crimson as the Truth placed a hand on his... _her_ chest. With a flash of gold lightning, she was turned back into a _he_.

A quick check revealed everything that _should_ be back, _was_.

Edward was giving the woman in front of him a death glare, but the effect was somewhat lessened by his still flushed face. "Don't stare at me with those eyes, you asked for proof of my identity, didn't you?" Judy pointed out.

"I expected something like that atom splitting thing Mercer did, not a sex change," Ed growled.

"Oh." Judy sounded unamused.

"Not to interrupt but, why are you here?" Alphonse interjected, "Glad you asked my dear Alf Alfa; since my brother demonstrated such interest in the two of you I decided to check you out myself. Get a closer look of the poor saps who broke the only rule in the book."

"You didn't try to stop us," Ed stated, glaring at the being in the room with them. Judy regarded him with judging eyes, "Mercer went out of his way to try and talk you out of committing the taboo, when you did it anyways, despite his warnings, it was free game."

"So you took Al's _body_ and my _arm_ , we were _children_ who wanted to see our _mother again_." Finally, _finally_ he could call out the thing that had tormented them.

Judy looked _very_ offended by his accusation, "You were children who had the information slammed into your faces that trying to perform Human Transmutation wouldn't work and did it anyways! Don't blame me for your mistakes!"

Ed snapped, "MY MISTAKE?! YOU DON'T HAVE A DAMN CLUE WHAT IT'S LIKE LOSING SOMEONE DO YOU? WE JUST WANTED TO SEE OUR MOM AGAIN AND YOU DID _THIS_ TO US! WHY NOT JUST KILL US INSTEAD?!"

" _ **Don't tempt me, little boy."**_ Judy's long hair went against gravity as a force seemed to fill the room, the two Elrics shook as the reality of her power dawned on them.

They were like bugs shaking their tiny fists at the sun.

 _ **"I could've taken**_ **all** _ **your limbs and outright killed Alphonse, Mercer reigning me in is the only thing that let you get this far. The world isn't a fair place, you break the rules you get punished, even if you don't know the rule existed."**_ The Truth of Judgement had taken on the appearance of a wrathful goddess as golden sparks crackled all throughout the hazy air.

 _ **"I could end your journey to restore your bodies if you want. I'd be more than willing to help you reunite with them."**_

"Judy, calm down." Mercer's voice cut through the room. The angered being turned her furious gaze on him, Ed and Al saw that he wasn't alone...

Winry, Pinako, and a battle-ready Armstrong stood behind him.

 _ **"Why should I? This little punk has zero respect for us, even after I let his little brother dream for once."**_

"He has a fairly good reason not to, and, c'mon. How would they know you did that unless you told them?" Mercer pointed out as he made his way to Judy, standing in front of her. He wasn't concerned or affected by the show of strength she was putting on.

Abruptly, the heavy, hazy air lifted. Her hair dropped back down, and the previously pissed divine being pouted, "It's really upsetting that I'm always blamed for this stuff."

Mercer sighed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I know, and now so do they." Judy's pout got even poutier as she noticed the other new arrivals.

"Crap."

"Yeah..."

Thankfully, after a brief explanation, things went back to normal for the Rockbell house.

Well, as normal as they can when it's revealed two incredibly powerful beings in charge of Alchemy and Afterlife Destinations are in your home, chatting with you.

They specifically asked Alex to not reveal their existence to his fellow Alchemists, the two preferred anonymity when possible, or when they weren't directly involved with people for an extended period of time.

Reluctantly, the man had agreed. He promised to keep it a secret within the Armstrong family for generations.

After finding some high-quality auto-mail metal, Ed stood with the somewhat broken down Al with Armstrong watching him go to work. Judy was laying back on the grass, relaxing, while Mercer played with the adorable little puppy that Pinako had.

"Sucha good doggy woggy, oh yes you are."

Winry shook her head at the behavior.

"Alrighty, see that seal?" Ed began, "Yes, am I right to think it is what's connecting Alphonse to the armor?"

"Yeah, I gotta be real careful not to damage it." Ed clasped his hands together and placed his palms on the armor that contained his brother's soul, restoring it to pristine condition. You couldn't even tell the difference.

Al tested his restored body and found it moved just like before, the brothers and Armstrong decided to put the two to the test and began sparring.

"Sometimes I wonder if that's all they do," Winry commented after seeing the looks of glee on the three male's faces. She turned to ask Mercer's opinion of it but found him missing and Den looking at her as he sat.

In the fields, Judy found herself a guest as Mercer took a seat next to her.

"So, find anything out?" She asked, enjoying the sun.

"Yeah... found out where It is."

"Great, maybe we can nip this one in the bud before anything bad happens."

"Here's to hoping."

Judy rose to a sitting position, "Where is It, just out of curiosity."

"Central, underneath the Capital." Mercer disappeared right after telling her, the girl looked at the empty space with a slightly annoyed look, "You could say 'bye' next time, ass."

 _ **=================================|EKM|====================================**_

When an uninvited guest strolled in his throne room, the only current inhabitant examined the intruded with cold curiosity.

"And who might you be?" The grey-haired man inquired.

"Mercer." Was the response.

"How did you get in here undetected?" Surely Pride would've informed him of such an intruder.

"Your security system is quite slow." He revealed, walking closer to the seated man in monk's clothing.

"Interesting, I will have to see about fixing that once you have been taken care of." With a snap of his fingers, three others appeared in the room.

One looked to be a teen with strange hair and unique fashion sense, but looks can be deceiving.

One was a buxom woman in an absolutely stunning dress, but she wasn't one to be underestimated.

The third was a large, bulbous man, who seemed very hungry if the saliva dripping from his mouth said anything.

"Deal with our guest, would you?" He went back to reading after making his wishes known.

"Yes, Father." The three replied.

 _"I can never catch a break, why is that?"_ Mercer thought as the three Homonculus got ready to carry out their Father's orders.

* * *

 **Judy can get a little angry.**


End file.
